Efficient use of fertilizer through innovative oil palm replanting technique

The oil palm industry has been experiencing depressed crude palm oil prices for the past two years while concurrently facing problems with increasing prices of chemical fertilizers. Coupled with environmental issue of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases to minimize the impact on global warming and climate change, the oil palm industry to remain sustainable would have to consider various strategies to mitigate the impact of GHG emissions from fertilization practices. One such practice is to reduce chemical fertilizer inputs from the use of crop residue and its management during oil palm replanting. In Malaysia, the oil palm industry has been implementing good production practices that are agriculturally sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally sound This is done in response to the continuous global demand of sustainable palm oil and also in line with MPOB Code of Practices (COP) and Principle 5 0/ Round table Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) that require environmental responsibility towards conservation of natural resources, waste reduction, recycle, re-use and disposal in an environmentally cost-effective and socially responsible manner. Such good agricultural practices of using biomass as bio-fertilizers will mitigate the adverse effects on the environment and reduce global warming. The adoption of zero burning in replanting oil palm is direct example where the lOOt ha-f (dry matter) of biomass containing a Significant pool of nutrients equivalent to 642kg N, 58kg P, 1384kg K and 156kg Mg can provide optimal nutrients to the palms up to 56 yearsafter planting. The trial with replanting oil palm using the innovative technique requires the young palms to be planted into the residue rows with several rates of fertilizer and frequencies of application treatments tested to quantify the amount of inorganic fertilizers that can be reduced. The results had demonstrated the benefits of oil palm residues management in recycling nutrients to the young palms and at the same time in maintaining optimum leaf nutriens levels thereby reducing the rate of inorganic fertilizer inputs to the palms. The results evaluated over five years of yield recording indicated that the decomposing palm residues during replanting were indeed able to provide significant amount of nutrients to the succeeding palms. Monitoring of palms showed that inputs of additional fertilizers and different frequencies of fertilizer applications did not significantly improve the growth and yield. Through the innovative replanting technique, it is recommended that fertilizer input savings by at least 50% of the standard full fertilizer rate was sufficient to maintain the level of nutrients in the soil to remain sustainable for palms growth and production. However, thereafter the initial five years, fertilizer input at full rate should be added so as not to affect the subsequent yield. Based on the prices 0/ fertilizers in January 2009, it was calculated that savings of RM 3300ha-1 over the five-year period can be realized by adopting the innovative replanting technique. Thus, with reduced production costs of mineral fertilizer application better sustainability with added benefit of reduced GHG emissions to the environment.